AMNA NAWAZ: In the day's other headlines:## Police in North Carolina say retired NASCAR# driver Greg Biffle and his family.. seven people killed when their private jet# crashed this morning outside of Charlotte.

Officials say the Cessna C550 had tried# to land shortly after taking off from a## regional airport used by several NASCAR teams# and Fortune 500 companies.

Eyewitness video## captured the fiery crash and a large plume# of smoke.

The NTSB and FAA are investigating.

The "News Hour" spoke to Biffle# last year, when he used his own## flying experience to deliver supplies# to communities hit by Hurricane Helene.

GREG BIFFLE, Former NASCAR Driver: For me,## it's people helping people.

.. And I had the opportunity in front of me to# help more people and bring awareness.

I would## expect someone to do that for me.

That's# why I want to do that for these folks.

AMNA NAWAZ: Biffle won more than 50# races across NASCAR's three circuits,## including 19 at the Cup Series# level.

He was 55 years old.

The U.S.

government has admitted to liability# in January's deadly air collision in Washington,## D.C.

In its official response to a lawsuit# from one of the victims' families, the Justice## Department said -- quote -- "The accident# could have been avoided" if the helicopter## pilot -- quote -- "had maintained visual# separation by seeing and avoiding the airliner."

Sixty-seven people were killed when# an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed## into an American Airlines plane as it# was coming in for a landing.

Today's## filing opens the door for families to seek# damages in the deaths of their loved ones.

The White House announced today that# Washington, D.C.

's leading performing## arts center will bear the president's name# and be known as the Trump-Kennedy Center.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States:# I was surprised by it.

I was honored by it.

AMNA NAWAZ: This afternoon, Mr.

Trump spoke# about his reaction to the renaming.

He## handpicked the board and is himself chairman.# Members of the Kennedy family fired back.

Maria Shriver, who's the niece of John F. Kennedy,# wrote -- quote -- "It's beyond wild that he would## think adding his name in front of President# Kennedy's name is acceptable.

It is not."

And House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said## the board has no authority to rename# the center without legislative action.

The Democratic National Committee says it# won't issue its report on the party's poor## showing in last year's elections.

DNC Chair Ken# Martin says that dwelling on the past would be## a -- quote -- "distraction," adding that# Democrats are -- quote -- "already putting## our learnings into motion.

We're winning again,# even in places that haven't gone blue in decades."

The decision comes after Democrats# have enjoyed a string of recent wins## in special elections and off-year statewide# votes.

It also spares top figures like Joe## Biden and Kamala Harris from further# scrutiny of their failed campaigns.

New York has a new archbishop after# Pope Leo tapped 58-year-old Bishop## Ronald Hicks to serve the areas more# than two million Catholics.

Like Leo,## Hicks is from the Chicago area.

He will# replace the retiring Cardinal Timothy Dolan,## who recently confirmed a $300 million plan# to compensate victims of sexual abuse.

Today, the outgoing Dolan introduced# Hicks at a press conference,## where he pledged continued -- quote --# "accountability, transparency and healing."

BISHOP RONALD HICKS, Archbishop-Designate# of New York: As a church, we can never## rest in our efforts to prevent abuse, to# protect children and to care for survivors.

AMNA NAWAZ: Hicks is widely seen as a# moderate whose style is similar to that## of the pope's.

He largely avoids political# matters, though last month he endorsed a## condemnation from his fellow bishops of the# Trump administration's immigration raids.

The Islamic State group today praised last# weekend's attack on a Hanukkah celebration## at Australia's Bondi Beach in which 15# people were killed.

The group called## the killings a -- quote -- "source of# pride," but did not claim responsibility.

This comes as the youngest victim, a 10-year-old# girl named Matilda, was laid to rest.

At a vigil## today, mourners sang the Australian folk tune# that shares her name in tribute to her and all## the victims of Sunday shooting.

Elsewhere,# a funeral was held for the oldest victim,## 87-year-old Alex Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor# who died shielding his wife from gunfire.

In corporate news, TikTok has# signed a deal to sell its U.S.

unit,## meaning it can continue operating in this country.## That's according to a memo seen by the AP# and others.

It says that Oracle, Silver Lake,## and Abu Dhabi-based MGX would together# control about 45 percent of the new entity.

The sale would end years of efforts to force the# company's Chinese parent, ByteDance, to divest its## U.S.

business over national security concerns.# The deal is expected to close in January.

Meanwhile, the parent company of President Trump's# TRUTH Social platform says it's merging with a## privately held fusion power company.

They say the# combined company will be valued at more than $6## billion and will aim to provide the electricity# needed to power artificial intelligence.

Trump Media shares jumped more# than 40 percent on the news,## but they're still down sharply on the year.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, stocks ended# higher after that encouraging inflation## data.

The Dow Jones industrial leverage# posted a modest gain of about 65 points.## The Nasdaq jumped more than 300 points.# The S&P 500 also ended higher on the day.

And journalist Peter Arnett has died.# A high school dropout from New Zealand,## Arnett covered more than a dozen wars# over a four-decade career.

In 1966,## he won the Pulitzer Prize for his# reporting on the Vietnam War.

Later,## he was one of the few Western journalists to# stay behind after the fall of Saigon in 1975.

Arnett spoke to the "News Hour" about his decision# to stay while revisiting the country in 2015.

PETER ARNETT, Journalist: The reason I stayed# behind is that I'd been there at the beginning,## say, 1962, and I'd covered it throughout# those intervening years.

So I felt that## I just had to stay behind to see what would# happen to Saigon when the communists arrived.

AMNA NAWAZ: Arnett went on to join CNN,## where he won acclaim for his live updates# from Baghdad during the 1991 Gulf War.

But his career was not without controversy.# He left CNN in 1999 after a flawed report## on a Vietnam War atrocity that# apparently never happened.

And## NBC later fired him after he said on# Iraqi state TV that the U.S.-led war## plan was failing.

He eventually# retired from reporting in 2014.

Arnett's family says he'd been suffering from# prostate cancer.

Peter Arnett was 91 years old.

Still to come on the "News Hour": President# Trump eases federal restrictions on marijuana;## the Trump administration's plans to cut funding## for hospitals that provide# transgender care for minors;## and the former ambassador to Venezuela weighs in# on the U.S.

blockade on sanctioned oil tankers.